Can I Trust You?
by Shadow Hedgi
Summary: Maria Robotnik has returned and is searching for Shadow. However, can Shadow trust that this is his long-dead best friend? Rated T for slight violence and blood, and a teensy, tiny bit of swearing, but most of it is bleeped.
1. Chapter 1- Coming Back

Can I Trust You?

 **Hedgi: HI PEOPLE! I HAVE A NEW STORY FOR YOU GUYS HERE!**

 **Silver: YAY!**

 **Sonic: *farts***

 **Shadow: *Munches on a chicken sandwich with whip cream***

 **Silver: Erm Shadow? Is that what you crave…?**

 **Shadow: Yes. Is there a problem?**

 **Silver: Err no….. Shadow are you a he-**

 **Shadow: HELL NO I'M NOT SILVER WHAT THE #$ ! WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!**

 **Hedgi: As punishment for saying that to my Shadow… *Shoots Silver 5 times***

 **Silver: Owiiiiiie… *Falls on floor***

 **Hedgi: MY SHADOW IS NOT A # $%ING HERM!**

 **Shadow: *Finishes his sandwich***

 **Sonic: *Slowly back away from the others***

 **Hedgi: ENJOY THE STORY! I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! THEY ALL BELONG TO SEGA, EVEN THOUGH I WISH SHADOW WAS MINE, BUT, HE'S SADLY ALSO UNDER COPYRIGHT OF SEGA *Cries***

High in the clouds, above the sky, over the moon, and over the stars, angels were flying and having fun. Two angels, a slim yet beautiful girl with medium length blond hair and blue eyes, and an old, fat man with a gray mustache and glasses. "Oh grandfather, how much I miss Shadow," Maria said, sighing. "I know it's hard Maria, perhaps you could try to ask for another chance," Gerald said.

 **After talking with somebody unknown to us authors…**

Maria got in the new form: A golden hedgehog with a peach muzzle, short bangs, blue eyes, medium length quills, and wore a blue headband, blue and white sneakers, and her normal blue dress and navy shawl. "Maria, promise me, once you find Shadow, tell him I saw hello and I'm sorry," Gerald said. Maria hugged her grandfather. "I will grandfather, I promise." Maria ran off to enter Mobius.

 **At Station Square…**

Maria landed into a strange city, filled with people and mobians. Skyscrapers reached the clouds and kids were running everywhere. "Incredible," Maria breathed. Maria ran through the city, trying to get a glimpse of her best friend, but couldn't find him. Maria then started asking questions to people and mobians if they ever saw Shadow.

"Nope, sorry ma'am."

"Who is that?"

Maria sighed in defeat. _'Well, let's take a break from searching.'_ Maria ran all over the city, trying to find something to do, until she bumped into something… or someone.

 **At Mobius…**

It was a normal day for the blue hero of Mobius: Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was running in the park, until something, or shall I say… SOMEONE fell on him. "SONIKKUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Amy squealed, nuzzling Sonic. "Argh! Amy! Can I at least get up?!" "Sure!" Sonic got up and brushed the dirt off. "Thanks!" he said. Amy giggled. "Oh, it's nothing." Sonic stretched his limbs and sighed. "Ah, I'm kind of bored. Tails is working on the Tornado, Rouge is on a mission with Shadow and Omega, **(I'm not adding my OC's in this story. Surprise?),** Knuckles is watching the Master Emerald, Silver is with Blaze and Cream doing whatever, and here you are chasing me."

Amy nodded. "I'm sure we could do something fun right?" she asked. "Define your terms of _fun_ ," Sonic said. "Oh. Well, you may not think it's fun then," Amy said, sweat-dropping. Suddenly, a gold blur came and fell on Sonic. "Why me?" Sonic cried. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry sir!" the hedgehog said, getting up. Sonic got up as well. "It's ok. Hey, I've never seen you before. You new to Mobius?" the hedgehog nodded. "Well, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic said.

"And I'm Amy! Sonic's girlfriend!" Amy said, clinging to Sonic. "Amy… I'm not your boyfriend…" Sonic said. Maria giggled. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Sonic and Amy. I'm Maria." "Nice to meet ya!" Amy said. Maria nodded. "Umm do you by any chance know Shadow?" she asked. "Shadow? As in Shadow the Hedgehog?" Sonic asked. "Yes! Do you know him?"

Sonic scoffed. "Yeah! Mr. Ultimate Bad-ass hedgehog is his definition!" Maria looked confused. "Bad-ass? Umm I think you're talking about a different Shadow. I'm talking about one that is black and red, and a hedgehog like all of you," Maria explained. "Yeah, that's the same hedgehog we're talking about," Sonic said. _'Did something happen all this time? No, Shadow was never a bad-ass….'_ "How do you know Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I was his best friend on Space Colony ARK," Maria replied. Sonic and Amy looked quite shocked. "Wait… You are Maria Robotnik?" Amy asked. Maria nodded. "You know me?"

"Well, yeah. Shadow has mentioned you a few times," Sonic said. Maria nodded to say she understood. "Do you know where he is?" she asked. "Shadow's on a mission right now, but we could take you to my house in the meantime," Amy said. "Yes please," Maria said. "I'll get everyone else," Sonic said, zooming off.

 **Later, at Amy's house…**

"Hey guys!" Tails said. Everyone except Team Dark was here now in Amy's house. "Hello," Maria said. "So, who's the new hedgehog?" Knuckles asked, sipping coffee. "I'm Maria Robotnik," Maria said. Knuckles did a spit take, Tails' eyes bulged, Silver and Blaze looked uneasy, and Cream looked worried. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be… you know, dead?" Knuckles asked. "Well, yes, but it's a complicated story," Maria said. "It's alright if you don't want to tell us," Tails explained. As everyone introduced themselves, Maria smiled. "Wow! You guys are my first friends after Shadow!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're friends with SHADOW!?" Silver asked. Maria nodded. "Why?"

"Well, he's not very friendly…" Silver said. Maria laughed. "Silver, I think you're mistaken. Shadow is extremely friendly!" There was silence. "Maria, what was Shadow like before the ARK invasion?" Tails asked. Maria sighed happily. "Well, he was a very bright and cheery hedgehog, always smiling and laughing with me and grandfather, making friends with all the scientists. Yet he could be a bit shy at times, he's a very friendly and caring hedgehog!"

Silence again. That was until Knuckles broke the silence.

"Shadow can smile?" he asked. Maria was getting more confused by the minute. "Yes, he smiles all the time." I've never seen Shadow smile, let alone be happy or bright," Silver said. "Yeah! And the only people he considers friends right now are Rouge and Omega. And Omega's a ROBOT!" Sonic said. "You guys said you knew Shadow though. I'm confused," Maria said. "We know Shadow. He's my rival from the beginning Eggman found him. He sacrificed himself twice for us, mentioning keeping a promise to you," Sonic explained. Maria gasped in remembrance.

(FLASHBACK)

 _"_ _MARIA!"_

 _"_ _Shadow… Promise me… that you'll make the people happy… The world looks so beautiful from up here… Grandfather says that they face many problems… That's why you were created! To help those people! So Shadow… I beg you… protect them…"_

 _"_ _MARIA NO!"_

 _"_ _Sayonara… Shadow the Hedgehog…"_

 _"_ _MARIAAAAAAAA!"_

(END OF FLASHBACK)

"Ms Maria? Are you okay?" Cream asked. Maria snapped back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm alright. I was just remembering something." The sun was setting and Amy sighed. "Would you like to stay here tonight Maria? I promise we'll help you see Shadow again!" Maria smiled. "Thank you Amy! Thank you everyone!"

That night, Maria climbed into bed, thinking of what everyone said about Shadow. "Shadow, I hope you're okay," Maria whispered as she fell asleep.

 **Shadow: *cries* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MARIA! *Takes a large bite of ice cream***

 **Sonic: What's with Shadow?**

 **Hedgi: I gave him raspberry ice cream again…**

 **Silver: Why?**

 **Shadow: *Sobs* MA-MA-MARIAAAAAAAA *takes another bite of ice cream***

 **Hedgi: Oh, he lost his Maria Doll…**

 **Sonic: I ummm had nothing to do with that! Hehe… *nervous***

 **Hedgi: *Gives Sonic a death glare and raises a Makarov to his head* Okay Sonic, where is it?**

 **Sonic: Ummm the fridge?**

 **Silver: *Finds Maria doll in fridge* Well, whaddya know…**

 **Shadow: *Finishes off ice cream and whimpers to sleep***

 **Hedgi: So kawaaaaaaii! *Takes doll from Silver and places it in Shadow's arms***

 **Sonic and Silver: …**

 **Hedgi: READ THE NEXT CHAPTER OR ELSE I'LL MAKE SONIC CRY!**

 **Sonic: Wait, what?**

 **Hedgi: *shoots Sonic in his feet***

 **Sonic: OWWWWW MY FEET! NOOOO I CAN'T RUN FOR A LONG TIME ANYMORE! *Cries***

 **Silver: …**

 **Shadow: ZZZZZzzzzzzz….**


	2. Chapter 2- The Search

Chapter 2

 **Hedgi: Hello butterflies!  
Sonic: Stop saying that!**

 **Hedgi *raises pistol to Sonic's face* Make me mate.**

 **Sonic: …**

 **Hedgi: SILVER! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!  
Silver: Aww why me?! Get somebody else!**

 **Hedgi: Knuckles is annoying, Amy is a psychopath, Rouge is ummm you don't want to know what she's doing, Tails is busy, Cream is creepy, Omega's with Metal Sonic, Scourge and Mephiles are having a blood party, Sonic's about to be shot if he moves, and Shadow is tired.**

 **Sonic: Wait wut?**

 **Silver: This is the 3** **rd** **time you use that excuse for Shadow…**

 **Shadow: *Yawns while walking into the room***

 **Silver: SHADOW! DO THE DISCLAIMERS!  
Shadow: *Falls asleep when walking and sleeps while standing***

 **Sonic: HAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA! OH THAT IS PRECIOUS! *Takes picture***

 **Hedgi: GRRRR! *shoots Sonic in the nose and crushes his phone with bare hands***

 **Sonic: HOLY $#$ MY NOSE! AND MY PHONE!**

 **Silver: *Starts to sweat***

 **Hedgi: *Points gun to Silver* Now do it.**

 **Silver: Okay, okay… Shadow Hedgi does not own any characters because we ALLLLL belong to SEGA! Also, as you may notice, Shadow Hedgi really lo- SHADOW HEDGI WHAT THE #$ ARE YOU DOING?!**

 **Hedgi: *Cuddles into Shadow's chestfur and opens her eyes when Silver yells* Hush child, my babe is sleeping! *strokes Shadow's chest***

 **Sonic: *Hold his nose* Owieeeeeee….**

 **Silver: Ugh, why me?**

Maria woke up the next morning to see Amy, Cream, Cheese, a white bat, and a giant red and black robot.

"Good morning," Maria said cheerfully.

"Good morning Ms Maria!" Cream said. "Chao! Chao!" Cheese said happily.

"Hello, I'm Rouge the Bat, and this is Omega," Rouge said.

"Hello Omega and Rouge," Maria said. "Rouge, do you know where Shadow is?" Amy asked. "No, he didn't come home last night after the mission, and he wouldn't answer the door to his house," Rouge said. "Should we find him?" Maria asked with worry.

"I'm sure we can find him Ms Maria!" Cream said. "So, how do you know Shadow?" Rouge asked. Amy explained everything to Rouge. Rouge made an incredibly large grin. "Oooo when Shadow finds our you're alive he's going to be so happy!"

"I DOUBT THAT," Omega said. "Oh, shut up Omega. I don't think you understand the situation here," Rouge said. After eating breakfast, the girls and Omega left to find Shadow.

 **In an unknown area…**

 _'_ _Shy and weak. That's all I was in the past.'_ Shadow was overlooking a cliff, thinking about his past. Soon, Maria came to mind. Her soft and caring words, her bright smile, Shadow smiled sadly at the thought. _'Now she's gone because I wasn't strong enough…'_

Silver came out from behind and walked next to Shadow. "Hey Shadow," Silver greeted. "What do you want Silver?" Shadow asked in his monotone way. Silver shrugged. "Just hangin' around."

"Go hang with somebody else then."

"Oh c'mon Shadow! Which do you rather; me or Sonic?"

"Neither."

Silver sighed. "Whatever. By the way, I don't mean to upset you or insult you, but who is Maria?"

"…"

"Erm, Shadow…?"

"None of your business."

Silver was shocked, to say the least. Shadow didn't kick his as- err butt for mentioning Maria. Huh. Shadow turned to leave, but called to Silver. "If you must know, she was a friend." With that, Shadow disappeared into the grove of trees. Suddenly, Silver's wrist communicator beeped.

"Yo Amy."

"Silver, have you seen Shadow?"

"Yeah, we were talking just a few minutes ago on the cliff in Evergreen Forest."

"Thanks."

 **With the girls and Omega…**

"So he's probably still in the Evergreen Forest," Rouge concluded. As they approached the forest, a giant fighting robot appeared. "EGGMAN! Or should I say… ROBUTTNIK!" Amy yelled. "O HOHOHO Yes it's me!" Robotnik aka Eggman said. "Wait, he's a Robotnik too?" Maria asked. "Yeah, that is Ivo Robotnik, your cousin," Rouge explained. "Wait… She's Maria?" Eggman asked. "Yes! And you won't take her!" Cream said.

"Silly Bunny! I'll just take her to bribe Shadow into working with me!" Eggman said. "Ivo, Shadow won't work with anybody evil!" Maria yelled. "OMEGA, ATTACK THE ROBOT!" Rouge yelled. "EGGMAN'S ROBOT SIGHTED. PREPARING TO ATTACK." Omega sent all his firepower at the robot, but it only left a few marks.

Eggman laughed. "Did I mention this robot is powered by 2 chaos emeralds? E19476592, Grab them!" The robot grabbed the girls and Omega and squeezed them. "WHERE'S SONIC WHEN YOU NEED HIM?" Amy yelled. "UNABLE TO ATTACK," Omega said. "I don't want to die again! Yet!" Maria cried. Rouge then got an idea. "SHADOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Rouge screamed on the top of her lungs, which is really loud. Sure enough, a few seconds later a golden blur shot at the robot's chest, denting it majorly.

Eggman growled. "WHAT?!"

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

3 chaos spears shot at the robot, destroying its power core. The robot fell down as Cream grabbed Amy, Rouge grabbed Omega, and Maria was falling down, until strong, ebony arms grabbed her body. Maria opened her eyes to see Shadow.

Everyone landed and Eggman flew away. "CURSE YOU SHADOW!"

Shadow set Maria down and was about to leave when Maria hugged him. "Oh, Shadow it's so good to see you again after all these years!" Maria said happily. Shadow made a warning growl. "Get your hands off me!"

Maria gasped, yet disbanded the hug. "Do you not remember me?" Maria asked. "I've never seen you before in my life," Shadow said in a monotone voice. Maria peered into Shadow's eyes and saw no emotions, just a cold, hard gaze. "Shadow, this is Maria! She came back!" Amy said. For a nanosecond, Shadow had a face of shock, but it turned back to his masked neutral face.

"Maria's dead, nothing can bring her back," Shadow said, turning to walk away.

"We know! But seriously Shadow, she's back!" Rouge said, grabbing Shadow's arm. After a few seconds of staring at Rouge's arm, Shadow forcefully took his arm back. "Shut the hell up Rouge. I know she's gone. Don't make this harder." With that, Shadow skated off, leaving everyone quite speechless.

"He doesn't recognize me…" Maria mumbled. "It's okay Maria, we'll get him to notice you," Amy said. Maria sniffed a bit. "Thank you…"

Rouge dropped off Omega, Cream, and Cheese with Tails and decided to take everyone to get a bubble tea. (Those are soooooo gooooood…) Maria just stared at the tea as Amy sipped her milk tea. "Maria, I know you feel bad about Shadow, but I promise you, he'll see you!" "You think so Amy?" Maria asked. Rouge chuckled. "Maria, we had to deal with Shadow getting amnesia and getting his memory back TWICE! I'm sure that compared to that, this will be a piece of cake!"

Maria smiled. "Thank you girls. I've never met such supportive people besides Shadow." Rouge nodded. Maria sighed. "I just… I feel bad for the pain I caused him…" "Maria, it's not your fault. It's the old GUN's fault!" Amy said. Rouge got an idea. "WAIT A MINUTE!" she said. "We can visit Shadow at work and explain there! He can't run away from his job!" "Great idea Rouge!" Amy said.

 **At GUN Headquarters…**

Shadow was sorting all his paperwork when his thoughts drifted to that hedgehog who claimed to be Maria. _'That's impossible. Maria is dead, not to mention a human!'_ Shadow cringed at the thought. _'She did sound like Maria, and the same warmth was in that hug… but I'll need evidence. I can't have it like when Sonic dressed Silver as Maria.'_

The Commander of GUN then walked inside. "Agent Shadow, we've requested for you to do an extra mission since Agent Rouge is out for the day and Agent Omega is collecting ammo." "I'll be able to do it sir." "Good. Here's the papers," Commander handed Shadow an envelope. "You leave in an hour agent." "Yes sir."

As the Commander left, Shadow looked through the paperwork. "Eggman's got a new project huh?" he mumbled to himself. Shadow proceeded doing his paperwork when the Commander called him up. "Agent Shadow, you have visitors."

 **Hedgi: Ha! How's that for a chapter?**

 **Sonic: …..Mediocre…**

 **Hedgi: Oh, really? You can do better?**

 **Sonic: YEAH!**

 **Hedgi: Okay then, what do you call a zombie invasion?**

 **Sonic: Ummm Hmmmmmm Zimplys?**

 **Hedgi: NO! ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!**

 **Silver: Wow, you're dumb Sonic.**

 **Sonic: SHUT UP FAKER!**

 **Silver: Faker? I think you're the fake here. You compare yourself to me? HA! you're not even good enough to be my fake!**

 **Sonic: Uh Silver…**

 **Silver: WHAT?  
Sonic: You shouldn't have said that…**

 **Silver: And why's that?!**

 **Shadow: *Growls* NOBODY TAKES** ** _MY_** **LINES! *Beats up Silver***

 **Silver: B-B-B-BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZE!  
Blaze: HOW ****_DARE_** **YOU HURT MAH MAN! *Manages to burn Shadow's face majorly***

 **Shadow: *Yelps***

 **Sonic: OH NO! BLAZE! YOU'RE IN BIIIIIIIIIIIIG TROUBLE NOW!**

 **Blaze: He totally deserved it!**

 **Hedgi: *Breathes heavily, head down***

 **Sonic: Ummmm Hedgi? You okay…?**

 **Hedgi: *Raises head and roars, showing fangs***

 **Sonic: HOLY $%!$ $#^$^ !$^! $^ I JUST #$%^ED MY SOCKS!  
Shadow: *Whimpers a bit, holding his face in pain***

 **Hedgi: YOU #$%^% CAT PRINCESS! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR HURTING MY SHADOW! DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE*Beats Blaze to bloody pulp***

 **Sonic: *Eyes are wide***

 **Silver: *Groans* please read next chapter, or else we'll send Hedgi to your house… *Falls***

 **Shadow: *Whines* Ow, my face…**


	3. Chapter 3- Arguments Sharguments

Chapter 3

 **Hedgi: Hey guys!**

 **Silver: *covered in bandages from his fight with Shadow* I feel numb….**

 **Sonic: Wow. I can't imagine Blaze…**

 **Shadow: *Has ice bag on his face from Blaze's fire* My face…. (his voice is a bit muffled)**

 **Hedgi: I put that cat in her place last chapter and I'm proud!**

 **Silver: I wish I could fight… Then I'd teach you a lesson for hurting Blaze!**

 **Hedgi: Yeah, yeah, Sonic do the disclaimers.**

 **Sonic: Why me?**

 **Hedgi: Because Shadow has an ice pack on his face thanks to a !$%$% princess, and Silver talks too much.**

 **Sonic: I refuse!**

 **Hedgi: A'ight, prepare for doom!**

 **Shadow: Chaos, I don't want to fight him again. I can't even see because of this stupid ice bag!**

 **Hedgi: you won't Shadow. But Sonic is now going to face his worst nightmare *snaps fingers***

 **Sonic: Psssh I have no fear.**

 **Amy: SONIKKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!**

 **Sonic: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! *RUNS OFF***

 **Shadow: Now that's more like it!**

 **Hedgi: Anyways, I do not own anyone! They all belong to SEGA! :3**

 **Shadow: *Groans, mainly of pain* Just go on with the story!**

Shadow walked through the hallways of GUN headquarters, which somewhat reminded him about the time on the ARK.

(FLASHBACK)

 _"_ _Shadow! Your arm is bleeding!" Maria exclaimed. Shadow clutched his left shoulder. "I tripped on metal on my way here, but I'll be fine. We need to get to the pods now!" Maria nodded. Shadow's right hand grabbed Maria's left hand since Shadow currently couldn't carry her, and the two ran down the halls of the ARK. "There he is!" a soldier cried._

 _Shadow went as fast as he could that Maria could keep up with. The soldiers were starting to gang up. The two of them reached the pods. "Maria get in!" Shadow said. "No, I'm going with you!" Maria said strictly. There was a bang on the door. "Shadow, get in first, I'll follow!" Maria said. Shadow, being so gullible at the time, listened to Maria._

 _Until he realized it was a trick._

 _Maria closed the door and another bang was heard on the door. Shadow banged on the glass. "Maria!" He shouted. Tears fell from his eyes. Suddenly, a GUN soldier came and saw Maria's hand on the lever. "Hey! I'm going to count to three, and you'll step away from that lever!" The GUN soldier raised his gun, but Maria kept a firm grip on the lever._

 _1…_

 _Maria made a stern face._

 _2…_

 _Shadow's eyes widened._

 _3!_

 _The Gun soldier shot Maria straight through her heart._

 _"_ _MARIA!" Shadow cried and shouted, banging with all his might on the door. But Maria still was alive and had her hands weakly around the lever. "Shadow… Promise me… you'll make them happy…"_

 _"_ _I-I- I promise Maria!"_

 _"_ _I only wish… I could go along with you Shadow… The worlds looks so beautiful from up here in space… Grandfather said the people there have to face many problems... That's why you were created! To help those people! So please Shadow… I beg you… Let everyone live happy and safe lives…"_

 _"_ _MARIA!"_

 _"_ _Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog…"_

 _"_ _MARIA NO!"_

 _As Maria fell, she pulled the lever with her, dropping Shadow's pod into a collision course with Earth. "MARIAAAAA!"_

(END OF FLASHBACK)

Shadow shook it from his thoughts. She was gone, he had to stop mourning. Shadow traced the almost-invisible scar under his midnight fur. Suddenly, he came to the front desk to see Rouge, Amy, and the Maria girl. Shadow scowled. "What do you want now Rouge?" he asked. "Take us to your office, we need to talk," Rouge said in a serious tone. Shadow made a death glare, making Maria shiver. _'When did Shadow become so cold?'_ The three girls followed Shadow to his office.

It was a plain office; bookcase, desk with neat stacks of paperwork, a computer, trashcan, and on the desk was a picture that Maria recognized; her 10th birthday, and her 5th year with Shadow. Maria picked up the picture and traced the edges of the frame. "I remember this," she said. The three mobians looked at the honey hedgehog. "Our 5th anniversary of being friends, and my 10th birthday." Shadow's eyes widened a little bit, so little yet you could notice. _'How did she know? Is she really… No, not yet, I need more proof…'_

"Shadow," Rouge started. Shadow stared at Rouge with his blood colored eyes. "Shadow, please tell us how do we prove this is Maria?" Rouge asked. There was silence for a few minutes, until Shadow spoke up, a bit harsher than he intended.

"You can't, I told you Maria is gone okay?!" Rouge sighed. "She's back alright?! Just let her prove herself!"

"Rouge, where are you getting these thoughts?! You even read Professor Gerald's journal and you're trying tell me this is Maria!"

"BECAUSE IT IS MARIA YOU DUMBY! WHY CAN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!"

"CHAOS DAMNIT ROUGE WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME?! I TOLD YOU SHE'S GONE AND NOTHING CAN BRING HER BACK SO JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" (sorry for the strong language…)

Shadow was pissed off now. Amy took a step back and Maria gasped, since she never saw Shadow this mad before, but Rouge kept her composure.

"Don't you DARE yell in my face Shadow the Hedgehog! Maria is going to prove herself and you're going to listen! That's final!" **(ARGH! SHOW THAT BITCY BAT WHO'S BOSS SHADOW!)** Shadow clenched and tightened his fists, small tears threatening his eyes, but nobody noticed them as Shadow held them back. "Just leave me alone Rouge…" Shadow snatched the paperwork for his new mission he received earlier and walked out of his office, slamming his door.

Immediately, Topaz contacted him on his wristwatch.

"Agent Shadow, everything alright? I her a bang and- ummm are you okay? Your eyes are-"

"Disregard the sound Topaz and I'm _fine._ "

"Okay, it was only a question…"

Shadow shut off his communicator just as the commander called up.

"Agent Shadow, the chopper is ready," he said.  
"Affirmative, I'm on my way."

Shadow completely shut off his communicator, right when Rouge, Amy, and Maria came to him. "Where do you think _you're_ going mister?!" Rouge said. "I have work to do, unlike you who takes days off for no reason."

Rouge glared. "Then we're coming."

"Hell no you're not."

"Yes, we are! We are not leaving you until you believe us!" Amy said, getting out her hammer. Shadow then sparked an idea. "Fine then! Wait here, I need to talk to the commander first," he said. Rouge growled. "You better HURRY!"

Shadow turned away and walked off, smirking.

Shadow got in as the chopper turned on. "Just on time as usual Agent Shadow, we'll drop you off at Eggman's base. Do you require pickup?" the flyer asked. "Negative, I can skate back," Shadow said as the chopper took off to Eggman's base.

Meanwhile, Rouge, Maria, and Amy were still waiting for Shadow. "Something isn't right…" Amy said. "I know," Rouge said, dialing a number on her communicator.

"Agent Rouge, you are out of office…"

"Yes, I understand Commander but I would like to request where Shadow went."

"Agent Shadow? The chopper he was in took off ten minutes ago on the way to Dr. Eggman's base."

"Thank you commander."

Rouge shut off her communicator and Amy got out her hammer. "WHY THAT LITTLE LYING PEST!" She yelled. "AMY! PUT THAT AWAY! REMEMBER, THIS IS G.U.N!" Rouge yelled/hissed. Amy grumbled her curses and put her hammer away. "What now?" Maria asked. "We're going to get Shadow, no matter what it takes," Rouge said.

"TAILS!"

Tails turned to see Amy, Maria, and Rouge rushing to him. "Oh, hey girls!" Tails said. "Tails, we need you to fly us to Eggman's base!" Rouge said. "Why?" "NO QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW!" Amy yelled. "OKAY! Lemme go get Sonic!" Tails rushed off and a second later, Sonic came rushing onto the Tornado. "What are you waiting for? We have a EGGman to fry!" The girls jumped into the Tornado and Tails flew into the pilot's seat. "Okay, next stop, Eggman's base!"

 **Hedgi: Okay, chapter 3 done and my butt hurts from this is stupid chair! *shoots chair with revolver***

 **Shadow: I'M FREE OF THAT ICE PACK!**

 **Sonic: How many guns do you** ** _have_** **Hedgi?!"**

 **Hedgi: As many as an author wants.**

 **Rotark: That means a lot…**

 **Hedgi: SINCE WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!  
Rotark: just now! ^^**

 **Silver: *Watches My Little Pony***

 **Hedgi: HOLY CHAOS CONTROL TURN THAT CRAP OFF SILVER! *Shoots the tv***

 **Silver: Awww I was going to change it to Gravity Falls…**

 **Hedgi: Too bad.**

 **Rotark: You're so mean Shaddy…**

 **Shadow: DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME SHADDY! *Beats Rotark to a bloody pulp***

 **Rotark: I was talking to Hedgi…. *Falls***

 **Shadow: …..**

 **Sonic: Wow… just…. Wow….**

 **Hedgi: R &R Butterflies and see ya later!**


	4. Chapter 4- Recognition and Regret

Chapter 4

 **Sonic: Mmm I'm hungry…**

 **Silver: Me too!**

 **Sonic: Shadow, you hungry?**

 **Shadow: Shut it faker. *Stomach growls***

 **Sonic: I take that as a yes! ^^**

 **Silver: Waaaaah I want food!**

 **Sonic: Let's sneak into Hedgi's fridge, she wouldn't notice…**

 **(At Hedgi's Kitchen which was full of Shadow the Hedgehog household appliances)**

 **Sonic: Wow Shadow. You have one persistant fangirl…**

 **Shadow: And you have thousands…**

 **Sonic: I know ^^**

 **Silver: *Opens fridge to his version of food heaven***

 **Shadow: Ewe Silver, you're drooling on the floo- oh. *Sees the fridge***

 **Sonic: Mama mia! O0O**

 **Silver: *Takes 3 tacos***

 **Shadow: *Takes a double burger***

 **Sonic: *Takes 20 chilidogs***

 **LATER…**

 **Hedgi: HEY! WHERE'S MY PICNIC LUNCH I WAS GOING TO HAVE WITH THE OTHERS?**

 **Sonic, Shadow, Silver: *Stops eating and Hedgi stomps in***

 **Sonic: Hehe sorry, we were starving…**

 **Shadow and Silver: …..**

 **Hedgi: *Beats Sonic and Silver to bloody pulps and shoots them with her majestic AUG A2***

 **Shadow: Whoa….**

 **Hedgi: Okay, that's done… ENJOY THE STORY GUYS!**

The X Tornado flew across the jungle until they spotted Eggman's base, and a black helicopter… "THERE HE IS!" Rouge said, flying out. "Hey, wait up!" Sonic said, hopping out. Amy took Maria's hand and the two hedgehogs jumped out as well. Sonic had already sped off inside the base, and the girls were approaching. "What do we do here? Eggman could trap us!" Maria said.

"Don't worry, just stay with me and Amy and you'll be safe," Rouge said. Maria nodded, trusting her two female friends.

 **With Shadow…**

Shadow hopped into an air vent of Eggman's base and crawled through. Since he worked with Eggman for some time, he knew how his bases were designed. After a few minutes, he came to the room where Eggman and the computers were located. _'Darn,'_ he thought. Suddenly, Eggman typed something on the wall. A minute later, a cool breeze came through the air vent, making Shadow shiver.

 _'_ _C'mon Eggman, leave already!'_

After what seemed like hours of freezing to death, Eggman typed onto his computers. "E825691 GET SONIC!" _'Just my luck… -_-'_ Eggman rushed out of the room and Shadow gladly hopped out of the air vent, still shivering, and started to download all of Eggman's files into a USB.

"SHADOW!"

Shadow turned around and inwardly exploded to see Rouge, Amy, and Maria standing there. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "I told you we are not leaving until you believe us!" Amy said, hammer ready. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the files finished downloading.

"You're so stupid to follow me," Shadow grumbled, putting the USB away. He skated out of the room, girls following.

Shadow came to the room with Eggman, his new robot which looked like a squid and spider combined, and Sonic who was in a cage. "Hey Shads! Be careful, that robot's pretty tough!" Sonic said. Shadow growled at the name Shads, and the girls ran into the room. "EGGMAN! HOW **DARE** YOU TRAP MY SONIC!" Amy said, charging with her hammer. "AMY NO!" Sonic said. Eggman smirked and the robot shot a laser beam at Amy, but Shadow pushed her to the ground.

"Amy, stay back!" Shadow warned. "OHOHOHO Do you REALLY think you can stop ME?!" Eggman said.

"Yes."

Eggman fell down anime style. "GRRRRRRRR E825691, Destroy Shadow the Hedgehog!" The robot roared and charged at Shadow. The robot shot multiple lasers at Shadow, but he dodged them. "CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow sent 2 chaos spears at they bounced off. Eggman laughed his evil Santa laugh. "OHOHOHO Chaos shields come in handy, don't you think Shadow?" Shadow growled. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Time froze all around Shadow as he found the weak spots of the robot. Time sped up again and Shadow used his homing attack on one weak spot, destroying a robotic tentacle.

"FULL POWER!" Eggman yelled. The robot started firing bullets, fire balls, lasers, and electric charges. Shadow dodged them all, but didn't see a tentacle come in and slam him into a wall. "SHADOW!" Maria yelled. Shadow got up like it was nothing and use his spin attack again, smashing the last tentacle. The robot then started to fire 2 missiles at Shadow, but they completely "missed" him. "SHADOW!" Rouge yelled. Shadow turned to see the missiles actually aiming for the girls. Maria shut her eyes closed, ready for her fate, when the pain didn't come.

Maria opened her eyes to see Shadow took the hit and flew into a wall. "SHADOW NO!" Maria said. Maria tried to run to him, but Amy and Rouge held her back. Shadow stood up after a few minutes, blood trickling down his head and waist. Sonic was trying to break out of the cage while Eggman's robot charged at him again. The robot fired more missiles, but Shadow leaped onto the robot's back. "Oh no…" Eggman said, chewing on his gloved fingers.

At the last minute, Shadow jumped off the robot and the robot exploded. "CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow freed Sonic of his cage. "I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME PESKY HEDGEHOGS!" Eggman said, flying away in defeat once again.

Maria, Rouge, and Amy rushed to Sonic and Shadow. "Nice job with Eggman Shads!" Sonic said, making a thumbs-up. "Hmph." Shadow folded his arms in a criss cross manner. "Oh Sonic! I'm so glad you're okay!" Amy said, hugging Sonic. "Amy… Let… go…" "Oops."

Amy let go of Sonic as Maria came to Shadow. "Oh Shadow, I'm sorry for being in the way of the fight! You even got hurt because of me! Please, let me help you!" Shadow shook Maria off. Rouge frowned. "Shadow, why are you being so rude to your best friend?" Shadow growled. "I believe I made my point before," he said, walking out of the room. Rouge flew over and blocked the exit. "No sir! We came all the way here to get the message through your darn thick skull!"

Shadow growled. "Rouge, get out of the way."

"NOT UNTIL YOU LISTEN FOR ONCE IN YOUR DARN LIFE!"

Amy walked over to Shadow. "She's right Shadow. Just hear her out."

Shadow was on the verge of going on a rampage, but he exhaled. "Fine. How do you propose you to prove this?"

Sonic got an idea. "How about Maria triggers some memories? Or things only she and Shadow know?"

"Good idea big blue," Rouge said. Maria approached her dark friend, a bit nervously. "Well, you and I both well know about Grandfather's mustache secret." Shadow seemed a wee bit surprised/interested, but didn't really show it. Maria cleared her throat. "He cut off part of the BioLizard's beard." Sonic snickered at this. "Boy, wait 'till I tell Eggman!" he said.

Maria continued. "And remember that time when we were mopping the ARK while forgetting to dry it, and the scientists kept slipping? That was quite funny!" After ages of explaining their past, Shadow believed Maria more and more.

"So do you now trust that I'm Maria?" Maria asked. As silence crept over the room, everyone got excited for Shadow's answer.

Shadow bowed his head a little. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But why? You didn't do anything wrong!" Maria said. "I-I didn't trust anyone, not even you. I didn't even recognize you! And on the day you died, I didn't save you. I'm sorry! so so sorry…." **(*Cries*)** tears began to escape Shadow's eyes and trickle down his muzzle, mixing with blood. Shadow dropped onto his knees and began to sob as Maria hugged him. _'Yes, I recognize it all… Her soft words, her warm hugs, her bright smile…'_ It became so sad that Amy and Rouge started crying as well. Heck, even Sonic wiped away a few tears. "Shhh Shadow, please don't cry," Maria said softly.

Slowly, Shadow regained his composure and he smiled. "I'm glad you're back," he said. "I'm glad to be back with you too Shadow," Maria said.

THE END!

 **Hedgi: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH SO SAD *Blows tissue***

 **Silver: WHY WASN'T I INCLUDED?!  
Hedgi: Because your mean.**

 **Shadow: Yeaeaeaeaeaeeaeaeaeeeaee *dances***

 **Silver: ….**

 **Sonic: He won a race against me *cries***

 **Hedgi: So much for Fastest Thing Alive…**

 **Sonic: Sh-shut up!**

 **Tails: He's jealous.**

 **Knuckles: Why am I here?**

 **Amy: SONIC! LET'S GO TO TWINKEL PARK! ^^**

 **Sonic: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  
Hedgi: BAI BUTTERFLIES! =^.-.^=**


End file.
